The symbol of impossible in Alciato: Wash to a Black

Abstract

This work analyzes one of the most important iconographies for the representation of the Black Africans in the 17th century in Spain and America. It is the image of the washing of a Black African that Alciato incorporates in his book “Emblems” as a sign of the impossible. This image’s influence is studied in American literature and in paintings, especially in a canvas that belongs to Aguado’s collection. This painting was attributed to Velázquez according to the inventory of sale in Paris.